


REDBONE(moved!)

by Dumb-Birdd (saltybird)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cheating, Creep Lotor, F/M, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith has a p active imagination :'))), Keith is a criminal profiler, Klance...ish...not really that much Klance, Lance is dead sorry, Lance is(was) just trying to have a good time, M/M, Multi, Pansexual Shiro (Voltron), Poly Shiro, Red Dragon AU, SHEITH - Freeform, Shiro is a bartender! and a sweetheart, Smut, Trans Lance (Voltron), he hates his job, pining lance, pining shiro, shance, shklance ish....mentions of it being possible at one point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:40:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltybird/pseuds/Dumb-Birdd
Summary: 26 YEAR OLD special FBI agent, Keith Kogane has always been more intuitive to the evidence, able to find the rhyme and reason, as some would say. Now he's back on a case he was hoping to distance himself from, the case of an ingenious serial killer, theTOOTH FAIRY.The recent victim has him more stirred than the last, and the more he finds out, the more personal it gets.LANCE WAS just 22 when his life was ended. He had plans, he had even moved away from Cuba, to the city of New Orleans for a new life. But he found himself in a bad position shortly after, with a bad person he thought he could trust until he showed his true colors, and the love of his life wouldn't help him until it was too late...SHIRO CONSIDERED himself to be "small-town", despite living in a major city. He owned a bar, lived in a small apartment with his boyfriend, Keith. Things seemed well for them, they were generally happy, but Keith always got caught up in his work, coming home extremely late when there was another case, and moody, too. He was fine with it, though, until he met LANCE, and things started to change -





	1. MONACHOPSIS

**Author's Note:**

> Wowie, i sure am shit for summaries, but anyways! I've been a huge huuuge huge fan of HANNIBAL for quite some time, i even started writing fic for Hannibal before anything else- but I also love Voltron, as anyone who has read my other (and way different) works like WYSI, WHAM!, and DOLOROSA, a collaboration with Winter-and-little-brunettes, then you KNOW I LOVE Voltron! 
> 
> I've had this idea in my head p much since October, and after a lot of thinking, I finally decided just to go ahead and write it, as it's something I find entertaining to write and it's also a learning experience for me, and a way to broaden my genres.  
> This fic may get graphic(or just plain ass stupid, we'll see), as it has graphic and mature themes, viewers discretion is advised :^)

  


KEITH’S EYES fluttered open to the dimly lit bedroom. The sun outside the window was hidden behind dark rain clouds, making the room that would have been brighter by this time, or what Keith thought the time was now, darker than usual. This was typical of summertime in the south, though, and it would explain why he always had trouble getting out of bed most days. It was just so gloomy and damp, and he hated that. He could stay in bed all day if he didn’t have bills to pay, but that was probably a bad idea anyway, regardless if he had bills or not.

 

Shiro rustled under the sheets beside him. The outline of his chest falling drastically with a quiet sigh that Keith could barely hear. It wasn't a tired or exasperated one, just one of those lazy morning ones that they were both familiar with lately. Keith remained quiet and still as could be until Shiro had rolled over to face him, speaking first as usual. Keith was used to that, Shiro being the first to speak, and he liked that.

 

“You're awake…”

 

“So are you…” Keith mumbled, and shifted on his side to face Shiro. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness more by now, and he could see the sharp angles of his jaw and softer curves of his boyfriend’s face. _The perfect face_ to wake up to _,_ Keith always thought. Shiro was the one good thing to wake up to on a morning like this. If it were a sunday he would cuddle up to Shiro without worrying about falling asleep and waking up late.“Looks like it’s going to be another shitty day,” Keith groaned, scrubbing at his face with the heel of his hand. He really _hated_ rain… It's been raining so much that it's flooded the streets in the city almost daily. All it was was an inconvenience, honestly. Shiro would agree with him, since it affected his business much more than Keith’s job. Keith would go to work regardless of the rain, but Shiro… Shiro would, but there was no guarantee he would get much business to make the trip worth it.

 

Shiro smiled lopsidedly at him, his hand sliding up by Keith’s face to stroke it. “I hope you're just talking about the weather…” Shiro murmured, scooting closer to him and giving him a warm kiss on his nose and then on the mouth. Shiro’s other hand only taking seconds to find bare skin up his shirt.

 

He couldn't help but to smile against Shiro’s mouth when his hands found his skin. Shiro always knew what to do. He could tell whenever he was worked up, and knew just how to calm his erratic thoughts down when he needed him to. Not that Keith was really worked up this early in the morning, but he liked Shiro’s distraction and attention.

 

Shiro pulled away from the kiss, both of his hands now sliding along Keith’s sides, feeling every inch of skin up from his nipples, down to the waistband of his briefs. “‘Cause _I’m_ not going to make your day shitty…”

 

Keith hummed and licked his bottom lip absently. Leaning into the warm hands there on his body. He always invited them to touch wherever they roamed. Shiro was the one person he could trust, and he loved Shiro. They’ve known each other for 11 years now, but only recently started dating three years ago, taking the fire they had for one another more seriously after all that time pining. It wasn’t always perfect though, it had it’s hardships in recent years, mostly because of _Keith’s_ job though, not because of Shiro… Shiro was perfect… He was patient when Keith wasn't, and understanding when he didn't have to be. He was lucky to have someone like Shiro to come home to. Keith sighed and leaned his head against Shiro’s forehead. “I know _you_ aren’t. You make shitty days a little more bearable…”

 

“Only a _little_ bit?” Shiro snickered, nosing his way to Keith’s neck, planting warm kisses on every inch of his skin he crossed. He slid his hands around to the small of Keith’s back and dipped his hand under Keith’s waistband, groping his ass. “How can I make that into _a lot better_?”

 

A small gasp escaped before Keith could control it and he arched himself into Shiro’s chest, biting Shiro’s shirt the more Shiro squeezed and teased him. One of Shiro’s fingers sliding over his entrance. “ _Ah_ \-- _Just_ like that…” Keith whined quietly, pushing shiro flat on his back so he could straddle his lap, Shiro’s hands still where they needed to be. He reached over Shiro and grabbed their bottle of lube on their nightstand, Shiro removing one of his hands from Keith’s boxers to hold his palm out for a squirt of lube.

 

Shiro slicked his fingers up and Keith slid his boxers down just past his ass so they wouldn't be in the way. He didn't feel like taking them off, since that would require him to get off of Shiro’s lap for more than a second. Shiro didn't mind it though, he got right to what he was doing, slicking Keith’s hole and opening him up with his fingers.

 

Keith mewled and rocked back on Shiro’s fingers, steadying himself with a hand on Shiro’s chest. “ _God- fuck--_ ” Keith moaned, “Shiro, _fuck_ me…”

 

Shiro slid his fingers out and pushed his own boxers down hastily. Keith was quick to grab Shiro’s hardening member and give a few strokes. He was sloppy and impatient, fumbling with the lube again to get some on his own hands to slick Shiro up. He needed this, a good morning fuck with the love of his life… He sighed quietly and lifted himself up, lining Shiro’s cock up with his entrance before sinking down. Shiro moaned and gripped his hips, steadying them both as he bottomed out.

 

“ _Fuck,_ ” Shiro moaned, tilting his head back and screwing his eyes shut the moment Keith started to rock on him. “I think _you_ wanted to fuck _me,_ ” he said, snickering, and gasping again suddenly when Keith ground down on him, just for a sweet second.

 

Keith hummed low in his chest, grabbing for Shiro’s hand that was on his hip and guiding it up to his mouth. “Mhm.” He hesitated for moment before putting Shiro’s fingers in his mouth. He let the tips of Shiro’s warm fingers brush his wet lip. “Look at me, baby,” He murmured.

 

___

  


They didn't last much longer. Keith was a rough power bottom, taking full control and riding both of their orgasms out until it left them exhausted and sweaty in their bed. Shiro left panting underneath him as he was hunched over him, trying to calm his breath, with sweat beading down his face.

 

He screwed his eyes shut. This was a good exhaustion... Different than the fatigue Keith felt whenever he walked into work… Which he had work today…

 

 _Right_ , he had work today... He couldn't hear what Shiro murmured when he opened his eyes to look at the clock, he just blinked at it before he climbed off of Shiro quickly, stumbling off the bed and nearly falling to the floor in his attempt to rush.

 

 _Shit…_ He had work today, like starting an _hour_ ago... He groaned as he snatched his pair of jeans from yesterday off the floor, making his way to the tiny ass bathroom and accidentally slamming the noisy bathroom door shut with a _squeeeeak_ and a bang.

 

___

  


He didn’t even say anything to Shiro after they fucked. Didn't kiss him goodbye, or tell him _see you later_ after he showered, he just ran straight out of the door. He felt awful about it, because Shiro would have taken that extra time for him, especially after sex. But nope, not Keith. Once he thought about work and getting it done, nothing else seemed to matter, and that was awful. But he only had his drive to work to feel guilty about being such a horrible partner. Kolivan was going to be pissed off enough at him for being nearly two hours late, he couldn't pity himself.

 

___

 

10:03am

 

No one had a face when Keith walked through the doors of the main quarters. They never did. Other than Kolivan and Thace, his boss and his closest colleague, the only person he could work with that wasn't annoying or distracting like everyone else. He refused to work alongside anyone other than Thace when out in the field, everyone else was annoying, accusing or liked to pry. He never liked sharing with anyone else, he didn't understand how people just...did _that._ How they would overshare and not feel weird about what they just told a stranger… It was an odd thought to Keith, but he always did his own thing compared to everyone else.

 

He sighed through his nose, ignoring the receptionist that _always_ tried to talk to him as he made his way past the desk, to the offices. He didn't know why people like her seemed so adamant about talking to him, he wasn't really that interesting outside of work anyway. He was constantly stressed, and if it wasn't for Shiro, he'd probably be an alcoholic. Which was ironic almost, since Shiro owned the Five Lions bar downtown, on the corner of Bourbon and Saint Ann street. But Shiro wasn’t much of drinker himself, that’s probably why Keith wasn't either; though he liked the taste of whiskey.

 

He was proud of Shiro’s accomplishment of owning his own small business though, even if he didn't consider it the best investment. It made Shiro happy, so it made him happy too. Or as happy as he could get with it.

 

“Hey, Kogane!”

 

Keith whipped around to the deep voice behind him that disrupted his thoughts. “Kolivan…” Keith was much quieter when he responded to Kolivan, the big tall boss man that everyone secretly feared in their own way… Keith averted his eyes nearly immediately after just a glance at his boss’ scarred up face. It was _rude_ to stare at someone’s differences… But Keith had a few scars of his own, too, so they weren’t that much different...

 

“I'm glad you're here, I need you to see something immediately.” Kolivan said, grabbing Keith roughly by the shoulder and all but shoving him into his private office room down the hall, the sudden change to carpeted floors nearly making Keith trip.

 

Keith rolled his shoulder after Kolivan released it and tried not to groan. _What is_ _this_ _about…_ Kolivan dropped a stacked folder on his desk, making a loud CLAP on the glass top that made Keith flinch.

 

“We have a fifth victim… After six months.” Kolivan said simply, as if Keith new immediately what this was about. He did. But he didn't want to digest that information just yet. He narrowed his eyes to the yellow folder on the desk and swallowed dryly.

 

“The fifth?..” Keith’s voice came out scratchy, and he grimaced. Kolivan knew what exactly what he was asking, they were already on the same level. It always happened like that, instantaneously. Maybe that was a sign they've been working on a case for too long, grasping for straws. That's how he felt with this one.

 

“Found him this morning, in an alley in the quarter.”

 

Keith paused, staring at the file still. “And this person was found in an _alley_ ?” That seemed almost out of character… “You know it was _him?_..

 

“I'm pretty certain,” Kolivan said, leaning on his desk with his elbows, chin on top of his folded hands. He stared at Keith with his piercing eyes, intent that Keith would do as he say. “But you're going to confirm it for me.”

 

Keith licked at his dry lips and looked away. “Why me? You have-- you have Sendak at Georgetown, a-and Ulaz at Harvard. They all do the same thing-”

 

Kolivan shook his head and dropped his hands onto his desk, his posture more stern and straightforward. “You _know_ that's not exactly true.”

 

“It is!”

 

“You see things differently than they do, you have the potential to catch this guy!” Kolivan said sternly, nearly growling at Keith.

 

Keith shook his head again. “No,”

 

“ **_Keith_ ** ,”

 

“You know I don't like this… I can't get close-””

 

“I know! But you don't have to get close, you just have to see and tell me what you see. We need your help to get this guy off the streets! Don't you worry about Shiro? This guy likes killing close to home, and we don't know how he picks his victims, but **_you_ ** can figure it out.”

 

 _That wasn’t fair…_ That flash of imaginary images in his head because of Kolivan’s bait was _unfair._ Kolivan knew how to pull his strings and make him nervous. He knew if gave Keith even the vaguest image that Shiro could be next, he would crack, because he couldn't let that kind of thing happen to Shiro… He would never forgive himself if anything like that ever did happen to him, even if the odds were slim, but something… _Something_ told Keith those odds weren’t as slim as he would like. His lip twitched and forced his lips into a tight line, staring at Kolivan now. “... Show me.”

 

___

 

10:37 am

 

Keith felt the chill on the back of his neck when he entered the forensic lab. That chill in the air that kept the bodies fresh...or at least _fresher…_ It never stopped the smell of death from plaguing the whole basement, their forensic lab and morgue. Everything was divided by glass panes and glass doors, you could see everything from one corner to the next, it was like a glass house.

 

Kolivan led the way, through another glass door, where Allura and Coran were, examining the body on the table, though Keith couldn't see it yet… He wasn't sure he wanted to… He kept his eyes trained on the floor until Kolivan stopped and stepped to the side, clearing his throat. “His name was Lance McClain… 22 years of age. He's not originally from the city but he’s been here for about the last year and a half on his own supposedly. We have yet to get into contact with the family in Cuba.”

 

Keith felt his stomach tighten up, and he swallowed bile that had risen up to the back of his tongue. Forcing his eyes up off the floor to look at the body of the victim, of _Lance McClain,_ for just a second. One second _._ It was hard. So hard. After a long enough look at pasty and pallor coffee skin on the table, he averted his eyes again, finding himself fidgeting in place uncomfortably and picking at the skin on his thumb. “Uhm… Give me… Give me a minute, Kolivan…” he mumbled when Kolivan shifted and crossed his hands in front of himself, most likely impatiently. He was waiting for Keith to give him his own observation, but right now he had none. It was so hard looking at this boy… Lance was only four years younger than he was. Hardly a boy at all, unless he considered himself one...which he didn't… He wondered why Lance was in the wrong place, at the wrong time… How unlucky he was to meet his fate with the _Tooth Fairy._ And most importantly, why would the Tooth Fairy kill _him._

 

This didn't feel the same as the other victims. Keith felt that immediately, even after just a glance.

 

Allura perked her white head up to look at Keith. He was sort of acquainted with her...from past cases they worked together, but she never really had a face to him… Something told him that she would soon. “Long time no see, Kogane. You never come down _here_ anymore.”

 

“ _Keith._ ” Keith corrected her. He couldn't stand for hardly anyone to call him by _Kogane…_ He was going to ignore her comment and avoid her questions. He cleared his dry throat and sucked in a breath, forcing his legs to take a step closer to the table, but he was unable to look directly at the body again just yet. “Why do we believe this is the Tooth Fairy?”

 

“You want to get straight to the points… All right.” She straightened up and licked her pink lips, putting her blue gloved hands on her hips. “I think the most obvious clue would be the bite marks. Eight of them on this boy. That's more than the last… The worst one is on his shoulder… It matches the bite mark from the previous four victims as well, and the AB blood type as well. He molested this one… I mean… He's done it before, but not to this last few… Cause of death was strangulation from the same time of cord as the other deaths.” Allura sounded sick herself after telling the obvious signs of a serial rapist _and_ killer on the loose. As if being just one of those things weren’t awful enough, this person needed the thrill of being both, at once. How terrifying.  “He's just… Not in our damn system with a name and face. That's _all_ we need now.”

 

Last time Keith was on this case, he remembered it made Allura physically ill as well, and everyone knew that didn't just happen to _Allura_. She had the guts for this, but maybe not so much for this case… Neither did Keith, though… Something about this was just… Different… Keith couldn't tell whether this was for fun, or had a purpose… If there was a purpose, no one knew what it was yet, but every kill was nearly the same. The same message over and over, just told by a different body. Like broken records.

 

Keith felt himself frown when he finally looked at the boy’s face… His short brown hair a mess, curled up by his ears and forehead. He was far too pretty to have met a fate like this, but Keith guessed the Tooth Fairy had his standards too... He glanced at his hands to make sure he had put gloves on before he ran his fingers along Lance’s arm, taking note of the bruises and marks left on his wrists from a wire or cord. This boy struggled, Keith could tell that he put up a fight. He didn't want his life to end, not by this person. He must be bitter wherever he's at now... Not that Keith really believed in an afterlife, but if ghost were a thing, this boy was sure to haunt the unsub after what he did to him.

 

“Did he have anything under his nails from our suspect?” Keith asked, picking his right hand up gently. He glanced up at Allura and then Kolivan. Allura’s face immediately told him that that was a no before she did.

 

“Just his own DNA and some grime from the alley he was found in. He was scratching at his own palms, and his arms had been binded during the attack… You know the Tooth Fairy is _careful._ A scratch on someone's face would be _noticeable._ ” Allura said. She thought the same thing, that this boy would have fought, and fought hard.

 

“Mhm,” Keith agreed.

 

Coran who had been standing quietly beside the table finally decided to talk. It almost concerned Keith how long it took for Coran the jabber-jaws to talk, but he supposed he was just thinking... “The bite mark is the best clue we've ever gotten from him, but this guy doesn't seem to have a dental record… Think he has bad teeth because he doesn’t visit a dentist?”

 

“I don’t know, _does_ he?” Keith asked, glancing at Coran before he traced his finger over the worst bite on Lance’s shoulder.

 

“Well, they can’t be that bad, honestly, for leaving such nasty bites. You have to have some pretty strong teeth to bite through flesh-”

 

“Maybe this is how he fights…” Kolivan interrupted, absently rubbing his chin. “So do we start looking at other files with biting involved? Lesser crimes- like bar fights? From people who _have_ survived attacks?” He asked, looking over at Keith. Like he knew what should be done here…

 

Keith chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment. “Slim chance you'll find anything of worth, but we’ll have to look… Allura, Coran, do you think there's a possibility you could make a mold of the bite mark? We can reconstruct what his teeth would look like, and have a better reference for who we're looking for, what kind of teeth this guy has.”

 

“Ah, you want us to make him _smile_ for us…” Coran chuckled. “It will take some time, but I'll do my best.” he said, dusting his hands.

 

___

 

12:00pm.

 

Keith sunk back into the chair, staring pointedly at the floor between his knees. Kolivan came back into the room with another three boxes of files upon files, and he dropped them at Keith’s feet. Keith glanced at him briefly before narrowing his gaze to the boxes with a sigh. That was a lot of files to sift through...

 

Kolivan plopped into his chair and rolled it over across from Keith. “I grabbed

everything from the year 1998 up to today, including the ones with kids involved. We don't know exactly how old this person is, they could have been twelve at the time of a report like this- or possibly younger.”

 

Keith glanced up again and nodded his head. “Let's just hope this guy has a notable past outside of murdering…”

 

Kolivan hummed, nodding his head too. “Mhm, lets hope.”

 

___

 

A hour of sifting through **junk**. This was nothing but junk, as Keith figured it would be. No one in the misdemeanor files involving biting seemed to fit what he was looking for. He wasn't that disappointed though, since he didn’t expect to find anything in the first place, even if he seemed like it when he threw himself back against his chair with a huff.

 

“These don't fit.” Keith said, haphazardly kicking the brown box away from his feet before crossing one leg over the other. Hands on the armrests comfortably, even though he wasn't.

 

Kolivan sighed and resorted to sitting back in his own chair now, looking just as done with these files as Keith was. “We should have been looking sooner… Why did we wait so long?” He seemed to be questioning himself.

 

_Good._

 

Keith shrugged slightly and pursed his lips. “We didn't know what we were dealing with… Not exactly. His first two crimes, think about it, they were sloppy, freakish. He had no pattern and no known motive, the only reason we knew it was the same guy is because of DNA. He only started killing with patterns because he wants people to know he’s getting away. He's sly. No matter how hard we look, he won't be found that easy.”

 

“He _can't_ kill _again_.” Kolivan said.

 

 _He will…_ Keith kept that thought to himself, but Kolivan was already thinking it too. Kolivan was getting worried, more worried than Keith’s seen him over a homicide case in awhile. “I know…”

 

“The third and fourth were already a big problem with tabloids around here, causing panic and concern that we aren't doing our job. We were lucky for a six month break before this fifth one, but we should have caught him after all this time! We have his DNA for fucks sake!”

 

“He’s not in any of our systems…”

 

“It doesn't matter! We could have-- should have been looking harder for this guy! This whole time! There's another one **_dead_ ** because of us!”

 

Keith clamped his jaw shut. It wasn't _his_ fault. He was dragged into profiling these cases, he never wanted to be apart of the ‘ _us_ ’, here. He didn't say anything, he simply stared at Kolivan. _This shouldn't be my problem right now…_ He hated his job, or at least the field… He didn't want to be dragged back into it just because he was _‘good’_ at catching **_them_ ** , because he knew how to look for them once he could think like them… But he didn’t like thinking like _them_ , the psychopaths… They were terrifying, and he recognized that he wasn’t too different from them...

 

“Don't act like you don't care about this, Kogane.” Kolivan growled, pulling Keith out of his head again.

 

Keith shook his head slightly and lifted a single hand dismissively. “I don't.”

 

“ _Bullshit._ ”

 

Keith stood up finally and walked over to the door, passively ignoring Kolivan until he was half way out of the door already. “I’m not sure _I_ can catch this guy for you, Kolivan.”

 

___

  


4:45 pm

 

He cracked. He spent the last four hours going through the current details of Lance’s case with Allura, and going over the despite of the last case involving the Tooth Fairy, trying to find connections between the victims. He couldn’t stop himself, even if he was uncomfortable with it. No one else was going to catch this guy or figure it out. It might have seemed like this guy didn't have a pattern, but Keith knew there was something there. He'd have to talk to people that knew the victims, see if there was anyone they had in common.

 

Keith stretched and set the folder on the table, glancing over at Allura who was cleaning Lance up now, after having been grimey all day while they were collecting every bit of evidence they could find. Allura already had Lance’s clothes waiting for her to finish her analysis of them. Keith bit his lip, watching the water drip to the drain on the floor. “...Kolivan thinks I can catch this guy.”

 

“You caught the last,” Allura said, glancing over at him.

 

“That was just dumb luck and bad bookkeeping…” Keith mumbled, dropping his head and putting his hands behind his neck.

 

Allura shrugged, smirking a bit to herself. She turned the water off and put the hose back up on its dangling hook. “You call it dumb luck, but you're the one that took the evidence and made the connections before any of us did.”

 

“Anyone could have done that.”

 

Allura walked over and leaned her hip against the same counter as Keith. “You hate the field, I get it. I think a part of us all do, because when we find another body we all assume we aren't doing something right, especially with a case like this-”

 

“ **_Especially_ ** with a case like _this._ ” Keith repeated, sighing.

 

“Right, but wouldn't you rather be out trying to do something about this than just sitting back doing nothing?”

 

“I don't know, honestly… Sometimes I think I chose the wrong career to be in.” Keith laughed, but it was forced.

 

Allura shrugged her shoulders and stepped away from him, back over to the table beside Lance. “I like what I do, personally, but I know it must be different for a criminal profiler like you, who might even be a little crazy himself-” She shot him a look when she said it and then laughed, throwing her palms up when Keith glared at her. “I'm just kidding!”

 

“So you think I'm unstable too?”

 

“You're not officially FBI because you couldn't past the test, so... _yeah._ Maybe a little.” She admitted, but she didn't mean it harshly, she was just being honest.

 

Keith leaned away from the counter and took a step away from it. It was time to go home, or to the bar to be with Shiro. He was done here for the day… He didn't say anything about their topic, he just left it at that. There wasn't any way for him to respond anyway, because he couldn’t defend himself there. “See you tomorrow. I'm going home now.” He waved half-heartedly at her when he walked out, stuffing his hands into his pockets quickly after.

 

___

 

5:01pm

 

He parked three blocks away from the bar, taking his time to walk there. He found himself looking warily down the alleys as he passed them. This wasn't too far from here that Lance’s body was found, dumped like trash and humiliated, and Keith wondered why that was… That's obviously not where Lance was killed, so why go out of the way to dump him there. It made him feel like Lance had done something very wrong, so much so that the Tooth Fairy would humiliate him and dump him like that. It was completely out of character for the Tooth Fairy, but DNA confirmed it was the same person doing this, regardless of how odd it seemed. He needed to stop thinking about this… At least until tomorrow when he'd be back on the case at work...

 

Keith paused in front of the bar, blinking at the slightly raised threshold. He was here for Shiro now, not work… Shiro was probably upset with him for this morning… Not that Shiro would ever deliberately make him feel bad about it, but that didn't change the fact that Keith knew he had done wrong. He swallowed before grabbing the handle and pulling it open, stepping into clean bar that Shiro had decorated so well. It really did have a lot of style, kind of classy, but still very casual and moody. Shiro was behind the bar, talking to one of his patrons that was sitting closest to the half wall. That was Keith's favorite spot whenever he came to visit Shiro while he was working, guess he wasn't sitting there now, though…

 

He took a few more steps in before Shiro had finally noticed him, perking up and smiling when he saw Keith. Shiro jogged over to him then.

 

“Hey baby,”

 

“Hey…” Keith murmured, wrapping his arms the moment Shiro had stepped close enough. “I feel like an ass for this morning-”

 

“Don't. It’s fine, I realized you were late, too.” Shiro said. He kissed Keith on his head and wrapped his arms around Keith in return, rubbing his back warmly. “Kolivan didn't have your head did he?”

 

Keith hummed and nuzzled his head into Shiro’s chest. He was very warm and comforting… Shiro was like his personal teddy bear. He was so thankful for Shiro… “No…”

 

Shiro lifted his head up from under his chin and planted a warm kiss on his lips. “Oh, good, then maybe we can do it again sometime…” Shiro teased and snickered against his lips.

 

Keith just nodded his head, and closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss slightly. “Yeah…”

 

Shiro leaned back after that, smiling warmly. “Go grab a seat, tell me about your day.” he said, nudging Keith over to the bar with a hand against his back. He went back behind the bar, patting the counter in front of a seat for Keith.

 

Keith blinked and stepped over, sitting down. “Uhm…” Keith leaned against the counter, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know you don't want to hear this, but Kolivan has me back on the tooth fairy case again…” Keith started, dropping his eyes. He knew Shiro didn't like that case any more than he did…

 

Shiro paused, his smile dropping. “Wait, again?..”

 

He sounded _so_ disappointed… Keith frowned and brought his eyes back up to meet Shiro’s. He lowered his voice so the few people around wouldn't hear. “There was another murder last night…”

 

“ _Oh shit…_ ” Shiro sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck warily, still frowning. “Are you going to be okay?..”

 

“Why are you asking about me?” Keith muttered. “I'll be alright… I - I just don't work to affect us again, Shiro… I'm not going to let it, okay?” His bottom lip wobbled. He meant it. He wanted Shiro to know that **_he_** _was_ more important to him than his work...he had to be. Or at least Keith really needed to be thinking that himself.

 

Shiro didn't say anything, and Keith knew why, but it almost hurt… Shiro didn't believe him, either… He saw Keith lie this morning, even before Keith knew there was another big case. He put his work before Shiro…

 

Shiro chewed his lip, his brow furrowed at Keith. He glanced over to his patron in the corner and walked over, glancing at Keith from the corner of his eye as he walked away.

 

_Great._

 

He just fixed what he screwed up months ago with Shiro, and now he was bound to do it again it seemed… No one knew just how much that hurt, even if Keith could tough most of it out, he always did it _with_ Shiro. They were partners, soulmates, Keith truly believed that, and now he was pushing his soulmate away because he couldn't get his mind off work.

 

Shiro came back after tending to the customer, stepping from around the bar to sit next to Keith on a metal stool. “I love you, Keith…” he said quietly, grabbing for Keith’s hand and holding it in his. He looked at Keith with a fond look, but Keith felt like it forced right now… “Through everything, you know that. Sometimes I have a problem with your job, yeah, but I know how hard you worked to get where you are, I was right there with you for all those long years of studying in highschool and then college, and your courses with the FBI… I'm not… _I'm not_ going to quit you over this. So don't worry so much, baby...”

 

Keith blinked, feeling tears well up in his eyes. “ _I'm sorry…_ ” he whispered, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

 

Shiro squeezed his hand, leaning in and kissing Keith on the cheek where tears had started to fall. “I'll close the bar early tonight, okay?” Shiro murmured, brushing Keith’s hair back behind his ear and pressing a tender kiss his cheek again to calm him down.

 

“Y-- You don't have to do that,” Keith sniffled and wiped his face on his sleeve. He couldn't believe he started crying… If that wasn't a sign that he was _stressed..._

 

“It’s Tuesday, I close early anyway.” Shiro winked at him reassuringly and stood up. “Bar closes at 9 on tuesdays.”

 

Keith grabbed his arm before he stepped away, biting his quivering lip. God he _hated_ acting like this, but he just couldn't do any of this without Shiro. He didn't think he could function without Shiro. Even if he seemed fine at work most days, that was only because he knew he had Shiro to come home to after work. He had to make this work for Shiro, for them. He slid off the stool and stepped close to Shiro, still holding onto his arm gingerly. “I think I'll sit in the back room for awhile,” he muttered, giving Shiro’s arm a light squeeze before letting go.

 

Shiro nodded, picking his hand up to brush Keith’s cheek. “I'll come check on you in a bit.”

 

Keith just nodded back and walked to doorway behind the bar. It was the store room and breakroom all in one. Small, but not cramped. Shiro knew how to organize, much better than Keith did. He walked over to small desk and Shiro’s chair, with Shiro’s old trusty laptop that served as his work computer now. He had gotten himself a new one for home anyway, one that they both shared. They shared nearly everything, but Keith didn't mind that in the slightest. What was his was Shiro’s.

 

He fiddled with things and papers on the desk for probably an hour, reading all of Shiro’s little notes to himself that made Keith smile to himself about how lucky he was for a goofball like Shiro. Shiro was mature as hell on the outside, but Keith knew he wasn't always serious at work, like he was… Shiro could write silly things to himself, he could act silly and relaxed when he was with Keith or some of his close friends. He was humble, unlike Keith…

 

Shiro peeked his head into the room, a small smile on his face visible from the light behind him from the bar. “Hey, you feeling better?”

 

Keith perked his head up from the desk to look at Shiro. He smiled back. “Yeah,”

 

Shiro gestured him to come over with his head. “Why don't you come out? I could use your company.”

 

Keith stood up from the chair and made his way over to Shiro. He stood up on his toes to kiss Shiro’s lips tenderly. “Okay.”

 

Shiro leaned into the kiss, smiling warmly. “I'll get you something to drink, you can relax.” he said, grabbing both of Keith’s hands and stepping backwards back into the bar. “Whiskey for my baby, right?”

 

Keith hummed and noodded. He couldn’t help but to smile now. Shiro loved him. He was so lucky. He didn't know how many times he had to remind himself of that, but he really was lucky. “Yeah, how about a whiskey sling?”

 

“Oooh? Lemon? Alright,” Shiro let go of his hands and turned around, grabbing a wine glass from his counter. “Go sit, your corner is free now, I made sure no one else sat there once the lady left.”

 

“That's not bad customer service to shoo a customer away from a seat?” Keith chuckled, walking around the bar and plotting down in his corner seat.

 

Shiro grinned and shrugged. He dumped ice and water into the empty wine glass to let it chill. “Not when I want my boyfriend to visit me and socialize.”

 

Keith bit his bottom lip, watching Shiro work behind the counter. “That makes me feel special,”

 

“You are,”

 

Keith smiled again, propping his elbow up on the counter to lean on. He hid his smile under his hand. This was the only time he ever smiled like this, when he felt bubbly with Shiro. “I love you so much…” Keith whined quietly behind his hand. He watched Shiro shake up his drink, the only real reason he asked for something other than straight whiskey. He liked watching Shiro doing what he loved.

 

“What? Couldn't hear you,” Shiro played.

 

Keith smiled wider, chomping on his bottom lip. He swore he could feel his heart swell in his chest. “ _I said, I_ **_love_ ** _you,_ ” Keith repeated, beaming under his hand until Shiro pulled it away and kissed him hard.

 

Keith wasn't big on PDA, but the kiss was quick enough, and the woman closest to them only spared a glance before talking on her phone again and sipping her fruity looking drink. Keith huffed thoughtfully when Shiro pulled away. He felt fuzzy after the kiss with Shiro, but it was a good kind of fuzzy, the one he liked.

 

“ _I_ love you.” Shiro murmured, smiling at Keith with warm eyes. He gave Keith his whiskey sling after he put it in the glass and took a sip of it for himself. “Enjoy.”

 

Keith took the glass and held it in his hands. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to leave a tip.” That was Keith’s way of trying to be playful, he wasn’t very good at being playful or funny, but Shiro still laughed.

 

“I’ll accept my tip from you after the doors close, okay?” Shiro winked at him. He leaned his arm against the half wall, glancing down the bar and the surrounding tables to see his customers. They talked for a bit in the corner, conversation broken up by Shiro having to tend to customers every few minutes, but it was fine. Keith could be patient for Shiro, and the alcohol started to mellow him out. Shiro was usually the only bartender on weekdays, when business slower, and that was fine, until Keith thought about what Kolivan said earlier to scare him.

 

 _Don’t you worry about Shiro with a_ **_killer_ ** _on the loose?_

 

Yes…

 

He did.

 

He worried about Shiro even when there wasn't a known serial killer walking the streets.

 

He blinked at his glass and swallowed dryly. He was going to have to talk to Shiro about this. He suddenly didn’t like the idea of Shiro working a barroom by himself, especially since Keith would be working late over the next few weeks. “... Hey, Shiro,”

 

“Yeah?” Shiro glanced over his shoulder at him while he prepared a drink for another customer, something with tequila.

 

“Do you work alone tomorrow?”

 

“Mhm, usually do. Why?”

 

“I’m just… It’s this case…” Keith shifted in his seat, avoiding eyes with Shiro again. He shouldn’t bring this up again. He didn’t want to do something that would upset Shiro by just worrying about him and the situation in the city., “I’ll be working late probably, and I’m just worried about you being alone at night…”

 

Shiro slid the drink over to the customer before walking back over to Keith’s corner, though he was on the opposite side of the bar from him. He leaned towards Keith on his elbows, he was quiet for a second while he tried to catch Keith’s eye. “I can tell you’re worried… So is this guy just picking random people off the streets or something?”

 

“I don’t know yet…”

 

Shiro chewed his cheek. “You know I worry about _you,_ too, right? You’re out there actually trying to find this guy…”

 

Keith shrugged his shoulders halfheartedly. “I get to carry a gun, though…”

 

Shiro sighed and shook his head. He leaned back off the counter. “And I’ve taken self defense classes, I used to teach them.”

 

Keith furrowed his brow. “I don’t think this guy just straight up attacks his victims… He-- He’s probably friendly with all of victims before he rapes and tortures them to death--” Keith’s lip curled downward and forced his mouth to shut. He tried not to let the images of what this killer did into his head. Not now, not now. He didn't want to see those images right now...

 

“I don’t this guy would just attack me-”

 

“Unless he already knew you.” Keith murmured. He picked his head back up, his eyes wide now. _Shit-_

He stumbled off his stool and scrambled for his phone. “Wait- I want you to see the recent victim-- and look at the others again. Maybe you’ve seen them before. Your bar is a popular outlet in the city-”

 

Shiro frowned slight and reached over the bar to snatch Keith’s arm when he stumbled. “Maybe, but what could I tell you?”

 

“Last time you’ve seen them alive,” Keith seemed to pause while he flipped through photos on his phone, “Uhm… Wh-Who they were with when they were last seen… Particularly _Lance_ , not so much the other victims since they were months ago- unless you make some kind of link between them…” He rambled, pulling a photo up that he had snapped of Lance’s drivers licenses photo earlier, and shoving it to Shiro.

 

Shiro grabbed the phone to look at the photo, his face dropping when he got a good look at the face. “He was the last victim?...” Shiro asked, disbelief on his face.

 

“You know him…” Keith said, rather than asked. He knew just by the reaction that Shiro had met this boy. “What can you tell me about him?”

 

Shiro bit his lip and handed the phone back to Keith. “... That’s Lance… He comes around the bar often...or _used_ to… I-I just saw him Sunday, Keith… He was here with me.”

 

Keith put his phone back into his pocket silently, almost feeling sorry for have shown Shiro Lance’s picture. Lance must have been one of the better customers if it got a reaction like this out of Shiro. That wasn't too surprising… Shiro was friendly, and he had a big heart for anyone who showed kindness the way he did. “He was killed last night…” Keith said. He glanced up at the camera Shiro had installed in the corner. “I need to see that,”

Shiro glanced behind him up at the camera, then nodded. “... Sure.”

 

___

 

9:06pm

 

The bar was empty now, they had gotten everyone to leave and go home. Shiro had to call an uber for a few of patrons, but other than that there weren't any more complications getting the bar locked down and cleaned up.

 

They were quiet the whole time they were cleaning up, with Keith helping of course… Shiro was sweeping the floor and picking up chairs while Keith cleaned the glasses and put them away behind the bar. He knew where everything in Shiro’s bar went, they opened it together after all, even if technically Keith didn't consider the bar _his_ , and he didn't know how to mix cocktails to save his life, nor hold a conversation with a stranger the way Shiro did…

 

Keith chewed on the inside of his lip, glancing up at Shiro every so often. Shiro was going to show him the video from Sunday when Lance was supposedly at the bar, and maybe Keith would see something that would give him a lead. He sure hoped it would. “So… How well did you know Lance?” Keith asked slowly, trying to keep his eyes trained on the glass he was drying rather than on Shiro.

 

Shiro stopped sweeping for a brief second, pausing before continuing and answering quietly. “...he was one of my more frequent customers. We had a lot of conversation, I guess…”

 

They were quiet again now. Keith just didn't know what to say to that… He didn't want to say anything or ask another question about Lance, because he couldn't tell what Shiro was feeling right now. He couldn't tell if it might have been hurt or just shock, but either way, he didn't want to upset Shiro too much right now by trying to pry for information yet.

 

This was good though, He had someone who knew Lance and saw him frequently. If the Tooth Fairy was friendly with Lance for a while, surely this Lance could have talked about him. Maybe he was a boyfriend, or a jealous friend, someone Lance got annoyed enough with to drink about and say something to someone like Shiro.

 

Shiro set his broom away and walked over to Keith. “Come on, I'll show you the video from Sunday night.”

 

Keith followed him into storeroom, and he sat on the edge of the desk while Shiro got the video feed up on the laptop.

 

Shiro cleared his throat and turned the laptop screen towards Keith. “He was here for a few hours, from 6 to 10..”

 

Keith put his leg on the table and pulled the laptop into his lap, watching the video play at a 1x speed. Shiro was talking to him, to Lance. In fact, that was the first place this Lance had gone, was to Shiro. Not that that was weird, Shiro was the bartender here, but Matt was there working too. Keith had come to the bar way later than 6, closer to midnight, to pick Shiro up since right now they shared a car. If one had the car, the other usually got an uber to get to and fro.

 

Keith was quiet, watching every single person that Lance talked to, or to anyone that came up to Lance. There were a few people, and Keith made sure to take note of them and ask if Shiro knew who they were. Shiro only knew one from that night that was seen talking to Lance, another of his frequent patrons, Iverson.

 

“Do you know their relation?”

 

“No, sorry…” Shiro frowned when he answered. He knew he wasn't much help. “He had a few friends that would hang out with him here occasionally, though… Lotor and Hunk are two that I know of.”

 

“And? How did they act around each other?”

 

“Hunk’s always been really friendly, he and Lance are good friends--”  Shiro paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. “ _Jesus…_ Do you think he knows?..”

 

“No details have been released to the public yet, so no, unless he was there or was the one to find Lance.” Keith said.

 

“I can't imagine finding out that kind of news…” Shiro said solemnly.

 

Keith nodded slowly. _Yeah,_ he couldn't either, had it been Shiro… “And Lotor?”

 

Shiro stiffened a bit in his seat, going quiet for a few seconds longer than Keith liked. But that could have just been Shiro trying to think back on this guy… At least, that's what Keith was hoping the pause was for, but Shiro’s body language told him there was something else to it. He had a feeling this might be it, if he was reading Shiro correctly and not just being a little bit hopeful it would be. “ _Shiro…_ You have to tell me what you know,”

 

Shiro blinked hard and then nodded to Keith. He kept his eyes away from Keith’s for a good long minute before finally glancing up again. “...He's… I don't know…” Shiro paused again, “Fuck, Keith, he might be someone suspicious…”

 

Keith raised a dark brow. “Can you tell me more?”

 

Shiro sighed. “Look, I'll start at the beginning, and I'll try to tell you everything I can remember about this guy…” Shiro started, “Lotor has been around the bar pretty much since we opened. He's alright, I guess. He never really talked to me, but I know he charms the other customers here. I think he's like a pimp or something, honestly, he’s always people around him that seemed to come and go with him and my other customers,”

 

 _Oh._ Well this was certainly _something,_ though Keith wasn't sure this was the same profile he had built for his version of the _Tooth Fairy._ He could've been dead wrong, though. Human sex trafficking could be something this guy was into. Maybe he killed his victims when they didn't behave, but they never found anyone else's DNA on the victims like that.

 

“And Lance started coming around not too long ago. He's real friendly and chatty, and he and Lotor seemed to get along I guess, but Lance did start…” Shiro paused, another time. “Trying to distance himself from Lotor…” Shiro cleared his throat after he said it, and blinked a few times. “Uhm… Lance did used to talk to me about Lotor being controlling some kind of way… But I don't know if they were dating, I think it was something else between them…”

 

“Like a worker and boss?” Keith asked.

 

Shiro just nodded. “... Yeah, I think so…”

 

Keith pushed the laptop from his lap and slid off the desk with a loud sigh. “Well, this is actually good… Do you have a last name for Lotor? Any other personal information?”

 

“Yeah, I believe it’s Waisz. I usually have to ID people, but regulars I don't ID every time anymore.”

 

“ID him next time he comes in, if you can, get me his ID number.” Keith said, grabbing the notebook he always had on him out of his pocket and scratching down the name. Maybe he'd find something on this guy. He had itching feeling about this, so much that it made his hands jittery. He's never had a lead on the Tooth Fairy, no one ever did. DNA was a start, but did no good if no one in the database matched. That gave him idea, maybe he could get DNA from a glass next time this guy came to the bar. He'd have to keep that in mind. Shiro did say he was regular here.

 

Shiro grabbed Keith’s forearms, giving him a concerned look. “Hey, are you okay, Love?”

Keith blinked and looked at Shiro. He nodded. “Yeah- Yeah. This is just-- _exciting_. It might actually be our first real lead to the Tooth Fairy.”

 

“That's mildly terrifying to think the _Tooth Fairy_ is potentially one of my customers…” Shiro mumbled.

 

Keith agreed, that thought especially terrified him, but he wouldn't let anything happen to Shiro. Never ever. Over his dead body. He was sure that they would die together, when it did happen. He hoped it would be when they were both old, though, like in the Notebook… That's the only way he could imagine Shiro dying. And honestly, that’s the only way he could see _himself_ dying, next to Shiro. He couldn’t imagine it any other way, or anything more perfect. He kept all of those thoughts to himself though, always have, and probably always will, because Shiro didn't dwell on death like he did, and Keith wasn't sure that Shiro would want to stay committed to him for that long… It was depressing to think about, but Keith always thought about Shiro leaving him one day, and just how broken it would leave him if that day ever came.

 

He slid into Shiro’s lap and snaked his arms around Shiro’s middle, laying his head on Shiro’s chest without saying anything, just stayed there and enjoyed Shiro’s warmth.

 

Shiro squeezed him and rubbed his back lightly. “Thank you for helping me clean up the bar tonight,” He murmured, pressing his lips to Keith’s temples.

 

“Anytime…” Keith muttered.

 

____

 

9:59pm

 

Keith didn't realize how far away he had parked, not until it was pitch black down the street they took to get to the lot, only illuminated by surrounding buildings, no streetlights at all. He had a death grip on Shiro’s hand without realizing it. Normally walking in the city at night didn't unsettle him, but now it did. The Tooth Fairy was killing again, and in this area too, and it was confirmed that his last victim was in his boyfriend’s bar the night before he was killed.

 

Shiro flexed his hand in Keith’s. “You okay? You're kinda hurting my hand, babe.” he said, but other than the flex of his hand, he made no move to pull his hand away from Keith's.

 

Keith loosened his grip immediately when he realized. “I'm sorry… Yeah, I'm fine, I just never realized how dark this street was. Don't park this far away when you have the car and you're by yourself, okay?” He said, unlocking the car when they were close enough. He was going to let Shiro drive the way home, so he handed the key over.

 

“Alright, I can park beside the bar.” Shiro said, walking over to the passenger side first to open the door for Keith. Nudging him to get in with the side of his leg. “I'll be extra cautious, for you.”

 

Keith was about to get in, before he turned around and snatched Shiro’s cheeks in his hands. He pulled Shiro in for a needy kiss, but Shiro was glad to return it with a smile on his face. Keith pulled away after the few intimate seconds. “Please,”

 

“I promise I will.” Shiro kissed him again before Keith finally got in the car, and he closed the door behind him.

 

Keith glanced over at him when Shiro got in and started the car. He wanted so bad just to spill everything out to him suddenly, about how he really felt, about how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Shiro and be Shiro’s only. He wasn't Shiro’s only, but that’s not what he meant. _His only up until now and the future_. They've been so close for so long that this kind of thing should have been easy for Keith, but it wasn't. He could never find the words he wanted when he wanted, and a part of him was a little scared of the commitment, a little scared that he might get hurt, even though he trusted Shiro more than he's ever trusted another soul.

 

And it’s not like they weren't committed right now, but Keith felt like he wanted and _needed_ more confirmation than just living together and saying _I love you._ He wanted everything with Shiro, _everything._ His whole life, his body, his soul, his happiness, his pain, and everything else in between. He wanted to be everything for Shiro, just as Shiro was everything to him, and he wanted to _propose_ to Shiro... Maybe not tonight, but one day… when he's more stable and prepared for it himself. He hoped he would feel that way sooner rather than later. It's already been 11 years. It only took them so long to start dating because Keith was hesitant, being so scared of being hurt by the one person he knew he could trust, but eventually he came to get over that fear enough to allow Shiro closer into his space, and now here they were. Steady for 3 and half years, and seemingly happy. Keith was happy, even if he didn't always express it, and he hoped that Shiro really was too. He seemed like he was, whenever he'd hold Keith’s hand, like he was doing right now while driving. Or whenever Shiro kissed him… He was sure he was just overthinking when he doubted Shiro’s love for him. After all, Shiro had been with him during the worst year of his life, and he never left, and he never abused or manipulated him like everyone had made him believe he would when they first met, when he was 15.

 

Everyone older than Keith at the time always told him that he would, because Shiro was 7 years older than him. Said that Shiro only stuck with him because he _wanted something_ out of him, but that wasn't true. They never knew Shiro like he did. Shiro never looked at Keith any different type of way that _he_ looked at Shiro, and they didn't touch one another until Keith was 19, going on 20.

 

And that was the first and last time for three years, until they started dating when Keith was 23. But enough about that… Keith knew who Shiro was. And Shiro knew who Keith was, and that was all that mattered right now to Keith.

 

“You're spacing out a lot tonight,” Shiro murmured, snapping Keith back into the car, out of his own head. They were nearly to their tiny apartment that was just a few short miles across the river. It was convenient for them, since they both worked in the city, but didn't want to _live_ in the city.. “What are you thinking about?” Shiro asked, squeezes his hand warmly, his thumb rubbing the back of his hand.

 

“You.” Keith was honest. He wasn't ashamed or embarrassed to let Shiro know when he was thinking about him, he just never told him about what when it came to the _‘I want to be with you forever’_ thing. It wasn't the first time, but this wasn't something that took over his mind that often, either. Lately it’s started to, probably over the last month. He could see it more and more, he and Shiro in a happy marriage… Or something like that.

 

Shiro cut him a glance, raising his brow. “Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Something about me?”

 

“Yeah,” Keith murmured, “Something about you…”

 

Shiro snickered. “Okay, like what?”

 

Keith bit his lip, watching Shiro thoughtfully. He should just say it… He’s thinking it, so he should just do it... _ask Shiro to_ **_marry_ ** _him._ He must’ve taken a few seconds to answer, because Shiro glanced at him with a brow raised and the corner of his soft lips quirked at him.

 

“Well?”

 

Keith released his lip from between his teeth, feeling his face heat up suddenly. “I want you to marry me,” Keith spilled out, his cheeks feeling like they might have been on fire, but he ignored it to keep a serious face. “Shiro,”

 

He couldn’t finish because Shiro had slowed down abruptly and shook his head, stuttering. His cheeks were as red as Keith’s though.

 

“ _Keith, I-_ ” Shiro started, pulling the car off to the side now so he could take his other hand off the wheel and scrub his cheek. He looked at Keith before looking away quickly.

 

_Fuck._

 

He was quiet for a few seconds, and suddenly so was Keith. What else could he say? It was Shiro who needed to respond to this. It’s not like Keith was going to beg or get all mega sappy over this, even if a part of him felt like that would be the normal thing to do right now, with the person in question suddenly freezing up. This wasn’t like Shiro, but maybe this question wasn’t like Keith, either, at least that’s what Keith strongly thought.

 

“I- I wasn’t…” another pause, and Shiro still kept his face turned away. “Prepared for _that_ … Uhm,” Shiro finally and slowly turned his head back to face Keith, a soft but uncomforting smile on his face. He looked...as unsure as Keith suddenly felt. _Great._ Not that he blamed Shiro for the response, he wasn’t sure what he was hoping for, and it probably wasn’t this. “Keith, love,” Shiro reached to grab Keith’s hands, both of them, and pull them closer to his side over the consol. “I want to say yes, because I love you like no other, you know I do… But… I- I’m not sure I can… After… This morning,” Shiro hesitated to be honest there.

 

Keith didn’t blink or frown. He wanted to, but he didn’t frown. “Okay.” Keith forced himself to say, finally blinking, even though he felt like that was a dangerous move to make, unsure if he could trust his eyes not to cry. He didn’t need to cry. He wasn’t going to because he wanted to, but he couldn’t trust his eyes not to. He pulled his hands from Shiro’s without being too forceful or upset about it, but Shiro still frowned knowingly.

 

“ _Keith…_ ” Shiro whispered. “I love you-”

 

“It’s okay, Shiro, I know you do. That was out of the blue and not thought out- it was stupid-”

 

“No!-- No, it wasn’t stupid- I just-” Shiro scrambled to say anything that would make him feel better, and of course, the attempt there only made Keith feel worse. He didn't even feel bad, just stupid, for a moment...

 

He sighed loud and dropped his head back against the headrest, screwing his eyes shut. He wished he could take it back now, and at least take his own advice of waiting for a better time. “Shiro, don't worry about explaining, it's fine.”

 

“Keith I just-- I don’t think I can marry you with how you put work before me--” Shiro groaned. “I mean-- That’s not _exactly_ what I mean by I can't marry you… I want to marry you, I've been wanting you for what feels like my whole life, but I'm not sure that _you're_ ready--”

 

Keith furrowed his brows, his eyes still screwed shut, mostly to the avoid the glare he was tempted to cut at Shiro. But yeah, actually, Shiro was probably right… He wanted to be ready, though… He wanted Shiro in his life forever, to be entirely committed to one another for as long as they both live. “I said you didn't have to explain…” Keith sighed again. “I'm sorry I asked so suddenly… It's just, I can't help but to think about being with you for the long term, and how much I love you, Shiro…” He opened his eyes and turned his face towards Shiro, his glassy mauve eyes searching Shiro’s face, silently begging him to drop the topic now. “I love you, I do. I'm sorry I always push you aside.”

 

Shiro reached over and cupped his face. “ **_I love you_ ** ,” Shiro repeated, stroking his thumb over Keith’s cheek. “We are long term. A piece of paper and a ring hardly makes a difference to that, but we will get there, I promise.”

 

 _If it hardly makes a difference then why not just say yes…_ Keith thought. Some would argue that that's a selfish way to think about it. He let his cheek rest in Shiro’s warm palm. “I love you…” he didn't know how many times he was going to say it, this was probably the most he's ever said it to Shiro in one day-- maybe even over an entire month, honestly...

 

Shiro leaned over and kissed him warmly, his hand still cupping Keith’s cheek. “I know you do, babe. Are you going to let me take you home without you dropping anymore bombshells?” Shiro smiled, trying to lighten the mood again.

 

Keith forced himself to smile back. “Yeah…”

 

“You're not going to tell me you're pregnant next are you?” Shiro teased

 

Keith rolled his eyes and shoved at Shiro lightly. “Hilarious, Shiro. Let’s just go home...”


	2. ADRONITIS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six months before Lance's murder, Lance had met someone new and interesting, someone who charmed him and made him feel bubbly. His only problem was that this man was already taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second upload for this chapter, I had a problem with the first one for some reason?? Anyways... This is hardly edited at all, so have fun with that, amigos. I really enjoyed writing this chapter though, since it's in Lance's pov and everyone knows Lance is my favorite boy. He'll have a few more chapters before his last day :(((

6 MONTHS EARLIER, FEBRUARY 15TH, 9:09 pm

Lance glanced back over his shoulder at his uber driver that had just left. Okay. Guess it was a good thing this is really where he wanted to be, at a bar. He looked up at the lit sign,  _ Five Lion’s Bar  _ & _ Lounge,  _ and grabbed the handle to pull the hefty door open. He was impressed when he walked in, everything was surprisingly clean looking, and it wasn't too loud, like every other bar he had hit up so far. Though, there was a huge difference between a sports bar, and a bar and  _ lounge.  _ A lounge was much nicer, calmer too.

He didn't do this often, not like most people who went drinking. It was more like once a week- on the weekend to loosen up and meet new people, since the year that he's been in the city, he's only made two friends. A bitchy 19-year-old college student, Pidge, and Hunk. Hunk was okay, he liked hanging out with Hunk a lot, but Hunk was in school too, so now he was out trying to find  _ another _ buddy. He took a few steps inside, glancing around at the pale cream walls and dim yellow lighting, and the green garlands decorating shelves and the wall over by the bar. It looked nice, not overly sophisticated  **or** grungy, it was a good mix, and hopefully that meant whoever frequented this bar was just as interesting.

“Hey, Welcome,” A smooth voice from behind the bar had caught his attention- the person- a man, was talking to him.  _ Oh.  _ Lance couldn't help but to smile back this handsome man with short black hair, an undercut underneath, but it didn't look douchey. He walked over and plopped down on a stool.

“Hiya, I'm Lance.” He purred, faux-casually leaning on his wrist and holding his other hand out for this man.

The man glanced at his hand before he shook it firmly. Damn, Lance wasn't sure what to make of that kind of grip and the feel of rougher and warmer skin on his. He liked it, though, ultimately.

“I'm Shiro. Haven't seen you here before,” The man, now certainly known as  _ Shiro  _ , said, and looked him down and then back up. “And you look pretty young, can I see an ID, Lance?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Just say it, I’m pretty,” Lance teased, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He showed his ID to Shiro before giving him the same smile that he gave for his ID photo. “I'm 22, not 16 despite what my cute face might look like.”

Shiro leaned in and squinted at the date of birth before nodding his head and leaning back again. “So you are. What can I get you to drink?” Shiro’s smile returned when he stepped away, gesturing over to the liquor on back wall lightly.

Geez, this guy was already a catch, honestly. It was time to flirt. Lance haunched over the counter again, with his arms in his lap and he winked at Shiro. “Surprise me, you look like you know your stuff Mr. Bartender…”

Shiro pursed his lips and creased his brow for a moment. “You know you have to pay for whatever I make for you, right? I hope you don't hate it.” He grabbed a bottle of tequila off his shelf and a glass, and Lance smirked, shrugging.

“That’s fine, I have some money I can blow… I'm sure there's a few other things I could  _ blow  _ here too,” That was being  _ straight _ foward-- or actually- less than  _ straight  _ , but still.

Shiro’s lips pressed into a thin line and he shot Lance a look. “Oookay, so you're a flirter, and a bad one at that…” Shiro sighed. Well that was a little ego shattering, but Lance was a forgiver and definitely not a quitter when it came to flirting. Shiro mixed a cocktail up that Lance hadn't been paying attention to what he was putting into it.  _ Whoops  _ .

Hopefully he did like the drink, he would hate to really waste his money, but oh well he guessed. It smelled like grapefruit, so he should be able to tolerate it. “So maybe that line wasn't my best...” He murmured, taking the glass when Shiro had handed it to him. He sniffed it before pressing his lips to it. It  _ was  _ grapefruit, and sprite, and tequila… a Paloma,  _ nice. _

Shiro watched him and quirked a brow as he took a sip. “How is it?”

Lance nodded after he finished his sip and he set his glass in front of him. “It’s perfect,” He winked again at Shiro. “How'd you know Paloma was my  _ favorite  _ drink?”

Shiro rolled his eyes, it wasn't with any malice though, by the small grin on his face. “I didn't, but I'm glad it's good enough for you. I would hate for you to get mad had I made something you didn't like.”

“I was the one who asked you to surprise me, I don't get mad over stuff I encourage,” Lance hummed and played with the tiny mixing straw in his drink. “Unless you poison me, then that's different.” He jested.

“You watched me mix it,” Shiro deadpanned. That was true, ish. He wasn't  _ really  _ paying attention to the drink, as he was Shiro’s nice ass biceps and shoulders.

“Well whatever,” Lance took another sip, glancing down the bar at the other people surrounding it to his left. A woman caught his eye- or rather he must have caught  _ her  _ eye, as she was watching him, along with a man behind her, who whispered something in her ear that made her nod. He had awfully white hair, in contrast to her shiny black hair, but he didn't look much older than Shiro did.  _ Oh no.  _ Lance got the feeling they said something about  _ him  _ , so he self consciously glanced down at himself, just to make sure- of whatever they might have been looking at him for. He looked back at Shiro to distract himself from the couple. He was bisexual as fuck- but he wasn't really looking to swing with a couple that looked like they could murder him too if they wanted. They were way out of his league- in some type of he could tell that.

Shiro was minding his own, not paying so much attention to him anymore, as he was to a couple of other customers at the moment. _ Well, damn it…  _ He opted to guzzle the rest of his drink, clinking the glass after he was done to get Shiro’s attention again. He grinned smugly when Shiro’s eyes cut over to him and he stepped over.

“Why don’t you surprise me again?” Lance purred, resting his chin on top of his folded hands. He batted his eyes at Shiro, “You impressed me the first time,”

Shiro reached for the empty glass beside Lance. “Sure,”

Lance’s grin faded when Shiro had turned away and he hadn't said anything more than  _ sure  _ . “Sooooo, Shiro, how long have you been doing this? You seem to know your stuff.”

“I do,” Shiro agreed. “I've bartended for a while, on and off, until I got my own place. It's more fun once you own the bar and can cut up with customers.”

Lance hummed. “You really enjoy it,”

Shiro nodded and smiled to himself, mixing another drink. This time it had whiskey and...lemon? Lance refused to make a face at that since he was the one that asked for a  _ surprise  _ , but he didn't really like whiskey, or lemon too much. “I do. It's really casual and laid back. My boyfriend doesn't care too much for what I do, but he still encourages me to do what I love here.”

Lance blinked.  _ Boyfriend?  _   Well, it was great to have it confirmed that Shiro here was Bisexual or gay, or something  _ obtainable  _ , but he was already taken… Lance sighed internally, of course a good looking man that caught his eye was taken, but that was okay… He was only really looking for a friend anyway,

“Oh, Nice,” Lance retorted, biting his lip when Shiro slid the whiskey and lemon drink over to him.  _ Ugh.  _ He didn't want to say anything about not liking Whiskey.

“Drink up, it's one of my boyfriend’s favorites, a lemon whiskey sling.” Shiro grinned.

_ Ughhhh, _

“Thaaaanks…” Lance chirped, picking it up to take a sip.  _ Nope.  _ He hated this, but he wasn't gonna hurt the man's feelings or admit defeat or whatever. “-- It's…  _ soooo  _ great. Thanks,” Lance lied, grinning twice as wide.  _ Your boyfriend has awful taste,  _ Lance thought, chuckling at his own thought of Shiro’s boyfriend.

He was probably bland as hell, not fun at all, but he wasn't trying to speculate. He did try to picture what kind of man might have been Shiro’s type, if he had one. Maybe his taste was bland, but maybe not his personality. Or he could have been a polar opposite from Shiro, too. That seemed to be common.

Shiro tilted his head slightly, a small grin pulling at the corners of his lips. “Are you sure? Face looks a little sour there…”

“Okay, so you didn't nail this one, but I didn't want to disappoint you. Next time, let's stick with something fruity.”

___

APRIL 14TH, 8:18pm, 4 MONTHS EARLIER.

Lance had found himself visiting this bar every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and  _ occasionally  _ Sundays and Wednesdays, so basically every day for the past two months since first walking into it. Yeah, maybe he was developing a problem, he wasn't sure the drinking was his problem, though. Maybe it was the small crush he had really started to develop for the owner, Shiro. Shiro was sweet, and the more they got to know each other, the better Shiro seemed. And by better, Lance meant better for him. He needed someone like Shiro, even if he couldn't have Shiro himself, at least they could be friends. He still has yet to meet Shiro’s boyfriend, but Shiro has a picture of them on his wall. It's a cute photo honestly, but he can't tell much about this  _ Keith,  _ Shiro’s boyfriend, from it. He looks like a girl though, at first glance, with his stupid long hair. He wondered if Shiro liked pulling on it when they fucked… maybe that was the appeal… He guessed he would probably like that too, if he were being real about it.

Lance sighed to himself when he stepped into the bar. It was bad that this was actually starting to feel a little like a second-- wait, no, a **_third_** home to him. He probably knew the frequents here just as well as Shiro by now, except for that odd couple. Sometimes he saw them here, particularly on Thursdays and Saturdays. Most of the time it was just the man with the long stylish white hair. He always had this dark look in his eyes, and whenever Lance looked over at him, he was always staring at him. He wanted to make a point to try and talk to this man- or weirdo- he hadn't decided what to call him yet because he was interested in this man too, but he never did. He got too nervous, or Shiro would flood his mind and time again. That was fine. He could let people be mysterious and watch him.

He sat at his normal seat, the one all the way at the end, closest to the bars entrance and furthest from the moody looking corner by the half wall. He didn't know who would want to sit there. He didn't particularly like sitting on an end, either, but this had just become habit now, and it was easy for him and Shiro to talk away from the people who did crowd in the middle of the bar. Of course, there were tables all around the barroom as well, some across from the bar, and others behind that half wall at the other end of the bar. It was a very nice place, but he stuck with his spot here, at the very end, nearest the entrance.

He felt a sudden hand touch his back, very briefly, but enough to make him jump for that second.

“Hey Lance,” Shiro smiled at him when he turned to see who had touched him, ready to raise his fist even if he didn't know how to fight. He sighed when he saw it was just Shiro, his stupid crush.  _ God,  _ he should know better. He still flirted with Shiro, but honestly, he did get more shy about it the more he came to like Shiro, because he didn't want to annoy Shiro anymore.

“You scared me,”

“Sorry.” Shiro held his hands up as he stepped around the bar. “You're here later than usual tonight,”

“I was at Hunk’s place for a bit. Were you worried about me?” Lance was mostly just teasing, but he secretly hoped Shiro had a more serious  _ yes. _

“Maybe a little bit,” Shiro chuckled. “What do you want today?”

_ A little bit…  _ Wasn't the ‘  _ yes, I was’  _ he was hoping for, but still made him feel pretty good. “It's a Friday, soooo… How about a  _ Kiss on the lips?  _ ” Lance smirked and winked at Shiro. “Yknow, the cocktail or the actual thing, I'd be content with either.”

Shiro coughed, clearing his throat and turning his head away- he was blushing.  _ Oh my god.  _ He actually made Shiro blush. He was truly blessed. “Sure, Lance…”

Lance chewed his lip, biting back a smile that just didn't want to leave him now. “Y'know you can ask for my number right? So you don't get too worried about your favorite customer…” Lance said, purposely avoiding shy eyes with Shiro.

“You're trying really hard to get my number, aren't you?” Shiro grinned as he was mixing up Lance’s Kiss on the lips.

“I never said you had to call with your own personal phone, you have a phone for your bar. And I have  _ that  _ number already.” Lance shrugged.

Shiro glanced over at him with a brow raised, eyeing him quickly. “True… Go ahead, leave me your number, you'll be the first customer I check on around here.”

Lance grinned triumphantly and clapped his hand on the counter. “Alright! I partial win, give me a pen and paper.”

“Partial win what?” Shiro snickered, pausing what he was doing with the drink to get Lance a scrap piece of paper and his pen off his shirt. “Trading numbers with the hot bartender? It's not really a trade if I don't give you mine,”

“True, but I did say  _ partial.  _ ” Lance said, taking the pen and paper to scratch his number down. He practically shoved it back to Shiro with a grin on his face. “I won't be surprised if you crack and call or text him from your personal phone. I'm counting on it actually, it would make my day.”

Shiro took the paper from him gingerly and glanced at it before grabbing a tack off the wall and pinning it next to the phone there behind the bar. “What makes you think that?”

“Cause we're friends,”

Shiro couldn't disagree, he just shrugged and nodded his head slightly. “We'll see, Lance.” He slid Lance’s drink to him after putting a pineapple and cherry on top.

Lance plucked the cherry off the top and popped it in his mouth, locking eyes with Shiro. He smirked when Shiro turned away, biting his lip and going to see his other customer down the bar. Maybe he shouldn't try and tease Shiro that much, since Shiro was in a relationship after all. He would hate to be a home wrecker but at the same time, it kind of excited him to make a committed man look at him the way Shiro did. He knew Shiro liked him. He liked Shiro too.

He didn't know how long he sat there, sipping his drink and chatting with the lady next to him. Shiro would occasionally come over, but he never interrupted them, just refilled their drinks from time and time again. He was fine with that, and he was fine with talking to someone other than Shiro. This lady wasn't too bad to chat with, her name was Ezor, and she was very lively and chatty, a lot like he was. She seemed rather interested in Shiro too, though Lance didn't think it was for the same reason he was. Didn't seem like she was infatuated with Shiro, it was more of a professional curiosity. She said she was a journalist for a blog, but Lance didn't ask what kind of blog, wasn't sure he cared. He never really kept up with the tabloid and media around here, it was all either depressing or boring as fuck and overly exaggerated.

“Have you meet Shiro’s boyfriend yet?” She asked, sipping her beer that smelled particularly odd to Lance. He didn't really favor beer either.

“No,” Lance said, idly stirring the little bit left of his frozen drink. He glanced over at the picture on the wall of Shiro and his boyfriend before he looked back down. “Don't know if I care to yet or not.” He muttered. “Have you?” he glanced up at her and she smiled at him.

“No, but I wish to. I hear he works for the FBI, did you know that?”

Lance raised his brows, faux surprised. He didn't know, but he was three drinks in and suddenly he didn't care what this man did. All he knew was this Keith had Shiro wrapped around his finger or whatever- and suddenly he only felt disgusted and jealous about it. He sighed and wiped at his face. “Is he really? Shiro hasn't discussed that with me…”  _ and I don't really care, _

“Speaking of,” Ezor muttered, peeking over Lance to the door when it rang open. She hunched back in her chair quickly to not look as obvious, and Lance quirked a brow, glancing over his shoulder to see the door.

It was Keith, or at least it looked like who he assumed Keith was from that one photo on the wall of him and Shiro. His long soft black hair that reached almost to his shoulders, and his hair in his eyes, the pale skin that contrasted with it, and an awful choice of clothing.  _ Ick,  _ Lance thought. He frowned when the black haired man walked over to Shiro and stood on his toes to kiss him. Shiro literally looked like he had stars in his eyes when he caught sight of this man, his arm sliding around his middle as they exchanged words too quiet for Lance to hear. It really was Keith, and he really was Shiro’s boyfriend.

_ Fuck,  _ he didn't have enough to drink for this… He shouldn't be pining like this after a man who was happily in a committed relationship. He felt sick for everything he had thought about previously, but he still couldn't help wishing for it, for a shot with Shiro, even if that did make him a home wrecker…  _ Just stop, just stop…  _ Lance rubbed his temples. God he drank too much for this. Shiro must have put a lot more alcohol in this than he thought because  _ now  _ he was feeling it. Now he was getting emotional. What a bad combination. Drunk and suddenly sad. Why did he feel like he wouldn't find his happiness like Keith had? Keith was lucky to have a guy like Shiro-  _ fuck-  _ he was so lucky and he probably didn't even know it, because it wasn't just Shiro’s looks, it was everything. His sweet and bubbly personality, how well he was with others and empathetic. Lance felt like he had seen it all, about Shiro. Even in just two months, he was smitten for the guy Shiro was. It was unfair that someone like Keith had a nab on him before anyone else could. The universe just wasn't right.

Ezor was still beside him, watching and listening intently to Shiro and Keith. She could probably hear better than he could right now. Was she a peeping Tom? Or tomette-- whatever the fuck you call women who spy…

He couldn't sit here anymore. He slid off his barstool and got his wallet out, tossing what change he had on the bar. It probably wasn't enough, but Shiro had his number…

___

APRIL 22ND, 7:56pm

He didn't come to the bar for a whole week, and Shiro never called to check on him. That made him feel **_great_** _…_ _not._ But here he was anyway, back outside of the Five Lion’s bar, and about to go in and start his routine back up. He didn't blame Shiro for not calling. He was probably busy anyways, but it still stung more than it should have. He hated that he had so much false hope- and over what, a one-sided crush? Shiro was just nice and personable, he didn't...think anything of Lance, like Lance thought of him… Lance was outgoing and chatty, sure, but probably didn't have any likable qualities the way Shiro did...the way _Keith_ must have...

He reached for the handle when another hand had reached for it from behind him- it made his jump at the surprise contact from this person, and he glanced back to see the man with long white hair, though his hair was currently pulled up into an elegant bun, with a few strands falling over one side of his face. It was hardly douchey looking or femme. It suited him pretty well, honestly.

“Sorry,” the man purred, almost in his ear. His dark blue eyes narrowed down on Lance. “Let me get the door for you.” he brushed around Lance to grab the handle and pull it open, gesturing Lance to go inside first with a sincere smile on his face.

“Thanks…” Lance muttered, feeling heat crawl up his cheeks. He quickly scrambled inside but waited a step for this man to follow behind him.  _ Good.  _ Shiro would see him coming inside with someone else. There was his petty side… as if he ever really got away from  _  that. _

“I've seen you around before, what's your name?” the man asked, stepping up behind Lance, only to walk right past a second there after, over to the spot that Lance hated, by the half wall. Lance followed the man anyway.

“Name's Lance, and you are?” he sat down before the man did, probably looking too enthusiastic.

“Lotor, nice to meet you.” The man smiled, sitting down in the corner seat and offering a hand for Lance to shake.

Lance hesitated before grabbing it and shaking it lightly. “You're here alone tonight?”

Lotor laughed then. “So you  _ have  _ noticed me before…”

Lance’s face heated up and he splattered. “Uhm- I-It’s hard not to, with the hair and all…”

Lotor nodded and glanced over at Shiro when Shiro had stepped over. He shut his mouth from saying anything else in Shiro’s presence.

Shiro gave a look to Lance, a brow slightly raised. “Hey, what can I get you guys today?” Shiro asked, glancing back and forth between Lance and Lotor. Lance wondered just what was going through his head right now, since he looked kind of perplexed. He probably was, Lance was in a different spot, and he hadn't even told Shiro hi, like he always did when he came in. That was  _ their  _ routine. Since the first day he had stepped foot into the bar, he had always gone over to Shiro first thing. Not this time. He hoped he was jealous, just as he was jealous the other day when he finally saw Keith in person for the first time. He still saw the tender kiss they shared in his head, and still burned with unexplainable jealousy, but this wasn't his to be jealous over, he should have known that by now...

“My favorite, baby, a kiss on the lips.” Lance crossed one leg over the other and leaned nonchalantly against the counter, and turned his full attention to Lotor. It was hard ignoring Shiro, though.

“Jäger.”

Lance was pretty sure he heard Shiro sigh before he stepped around and got to work. He bit his lip and forced his eyes to stay on Lotor in front of him.

“Well, since I know you from around here and you know me…” Lance trailed slightly, tapping his finger on the bar counter top. “Where's that woman you're always with?”

Shiro set Lotor’s glass down in front of him. He and Lance had cut a glance at one another briefly before Lance had turned his eyes away again.  _ Geez this was hard…  _ It was obvious Shiro was concerned about this, about Lance ignoring him.

“She's out, working…” Lotor said. He was watching Lance closely, following the movement of his eyes and hands. “You're close to the owner, Shiro, aren't you?”

Lance frowned and stopped tapping his finger idly. “Uhm… No, not really.” Lance lied. Of course he was, he didn't have to be captain obvious.

“No?” Lotor hummed, taking a sip of his drink. “Could have fooled me. You have eyes for him and he eyes for you. They've hardly left your back-- and here he comes with your drink.” Lotor dropped his voice when Shiro came over, taking another sip of his drink to cover his mouth slyly.

Lance blushed slightly at Lotor’s words, and he cracked and met eyes with Shiro again when Shiro was next to him with his drink.

_ Ugh.  _ Those stupid gray eyes were going to get him in trouble, he knew it.

“Your Kiss on the lips,” Shiro murmured, pushing the colorful glass over to Lance. Yeah, Lance was a weak man, he let his fingers brush against Shiro’s when he grabbed his glass. He couldn't help it, but maybe a part of this was killing Shiro as much as it was him, it sure seemed that way.

He didn't say anything to Shiro, he just lifted the glass and took a sip, looking away from him again. He looked back at Lotor who was watching with obvious amusement in his eyes.

Lotor didn't speak again until Shiro had walked off again, tending to another customer.

“You're such a bad liar, Lance…” Lotor chuckled. “How long?” he asked.

“How long what?” Lance quirked a brow, bouncing the leg he had crossed. He had to move, even if just a little bit. Movement more or less kept him sane.

“Have you two been courting?”

Lance bursts out laughing at that, “Wow, who actually says  _ that?  _ First of all, no, we haven't. I've just...been eying him up since I first met him. He's not into me.” Lance muttered, a frown forming on his face as he began playing with his straw. “He has a boyfriend… See that picture over there on the wall behind the bar? That's him and his lucky guy…”

Lotor took a glance over at it. “May not be as happy as you think, why else would Shiro look at you...like  _ that  _ .” He vaguely gestured for Lance to look behind himself. He thought about turning his head to find Shiro, but he thought better of it and just shrugged.

“Look, there isn't anything at all between he and I, and you know what? It’s not really your business,  _ Lotor.  _ ”

“Touché…” Lotor hummed. “I'm just saying, from observation, you probably have a chance.” He stood up then, taking his shot glass with him, and walking to table over in the dimmest corner of the bar.

Lance’s glare followed his back, but he sighed then and turned back to face the bar, hunching over his drink slightly with his hands on his forehead. Now it wasn't just him giving himself false hope… Stupid Lotor… what did he even know- he was just a creep and probably got off on this kind of thing. The thought of being watched suddenly made him uneasy.

“I'm not drunk enough to be thinking about this…” Lance groaned to himself before taking a chug of his frozen drink, only to regret it the second he got a brain freeze from it. He wasn't going to get drunk quick enough like this, but Shiro was tending the bar of course. If he got up and went to a table, Shiro’s helper, Matt, would cater to him instead of Shiro, which sounded much better than talking to Shiro right now… Matt was unironically his friend Pidge’s brother, too, part of how he came to found the bar in the first place… He glanced around his shoulder, there was really no one he cared to sit with, except for back by Lotor, if he really wanted to torture himself just a little more. But he just didn't want to sit at a table alone.

_ Fuck…  _ He sighed at himself as he stood and shuffled over to the corner where Lotor was. This was a bad idea, Lotor already creeped him out, but Lance never really listened to the voice that told him not to do this otherwise.

Lotor glanced up at him through his lashes, his sharp eyes following him until he sat down next to him.

“You couldn't resist…”

“I'm just bored…” Lance retorted quietly. “You're paying for my next drink, I need like five shots of tequila or vodka or something-- I need to get drunk as fuck because I'm pining so hard and I feel so pathetic for all of this--” He was babbling now, and talking with his hands. That was always a sign he was getting worked up, so he immediately clamped his mouth shut and put his hands in his lap.

Lotor just nodded and waved Matt over, ordering a couple of shots for Lance with no hesitation whatsoever.  _ Wow,  _ Lance wasn't really expecting him to actually buy him shots, but he wasn't going to complain. Not about that.

“...  _ Thanks.  _ ” Lance hesitated to say,

Lotor gave a small smile- not at all creepy like his some of his other smiles had been. “Not a problem. I think you and I could get along…”

Lance made a face. “You don't have to say stuff like that, y’know. You're already creepy, if you want to be my friend, you have to be less of that.”

Lotor raised a brow at him, and genuinely gave him a look of confusion. “Less of?”

“Y’know, the creepy watcher guy thing.! Stop observing people you don't even know and trying to analyze their relationships or whatever it is you did with me,” Lance said, “It's freakin’ creepy!”

Lotor merely rolled his eyes and shifted in the booth, one leg over the other casually. “I can't help it if i notice things,” Lotor said, very lowly. It almost made Lance get up again, but not so much because he was creeped out, but so he wouldn't end up wanting to jump this guys bones.

_ Fuck,  _ he  _ was  _ creepy, but there was something a  little alluring about him too. Maybe it was the elegant hair, or the dark eyes and pale skin-- actually, no, the pale skin and white hair was mildly creepy… but Lotor had a sense of sophistication and mystery, who  _ didn't  _ find that mildly alluring.

“I come here to wind down after long days, and I enjoy people watching… Nothing wrong with that, right?” he asked innocently.

Lance chewed the inside of his lip for a second before he agreed. “Yeah, sure…”

Matt came over with the shot glasses then, setting them on the tiny round table in front of them. He glanced at Lance before flashing a smile and walking off. He was kind of awkward, like his sister. Lance grabbed a glass and threw it back, coughing only a little after it.

Yikes, straight tequila. The salt on the edges of the glass hardly saved him at all from the burn down his throat, but he was too proud not to have thrown it back like a champ. There was a mini bowl of lime wedges, but it was already too late for that. At least for the first shot. He wasn't quite ready for the next one yet.

Lotor tapped his foot against the leg of the table, watching Lance with amusement. “How drunk do you plan on getting, Lance?”

“I'm hoping until I can't walk straight, it's been that kind of week.” Lance said, grabbing his next shot and downing that one. This time with a bite of lime right after. It definitely made it taste better.

Lotor chuckled lightly. “That's a bit dangerous to do around here, someone could take advantage of you…”

Lance screwed his eyes shut tight, leaning forward against the table slightly. There was that warm feeling. It was starting to rush in his veins now, much more quickly than his Kiss on the lips had. “Yeah? I'll take my chances I think…”

___

11pm

_ Well.  _ Lance didn't say he didn't tell himself so… eight shots total, and one and a half of his favorite mixed cocktails later, and he was pretty sure he had given himself alcohol poisoning, or something like that. It was still early to, at least from what Lance could tell. People were still around, but Lotor had left him shortly after his first five shots, saying he had to be somewhere early the next morning…  _ whatever  _ . Lance was okay now, but he knew better than to try and move right now. Everything was bleary and he felt sick, but he was okay mentally, emotionally. At least he was pretty sure he was. He couldn't think of what had gotten him to drink so much in the first place. It was probably Shiro, he figured that, but it didn't bother him right now. He couldn't even see Shiro or hear him talking by the bar. That was good…

Until a warm hand touched his shoulder, and an all too pretty face stooped down in front of him and came into his focus.  _ Fuck… _

“Hey,” Shiro said quietly, the hand on his shoulder moved to brush Lance’s hair off his sticky forehead, and the touches themselves made the fire in Lance’s stomach burn even hotter. Honestly, this was probably worse now. But he couldn't say anything while Shiro was looking at him with those pretty worried eyes, his natural dark brows furrowed, exaggerating the worry on his face. Lance frowned a little at it.

“How much did you drink?” he heard Shiro ask, though the sound felt like it moved to him slower than the question had.

Lance hummed low in his throat. “...mmm….cou...couple...of shots..” He mumbled, giving a thumbs up and a fake grin.

Shiro sighed, and Lance tensed slightly when his breath had ghosted his arm. _Fuck…_ _Fuuuck…_ “Jesus Christ, Lance…” Shiro muttered to himself as he stood up. He picked Lance up under his arms and draped one of Lance's arms around his shoulder. “...I don't know what to do with you..” Shiro murmured, his hands extra gentle with Lance. Lance could tell he was being gentle, even when he was so drunk everything felt so blurry but also so amplified-- his head spun suddenly and he dropped his head against Shiro’s shoulder since he knew it was there.

Lance hummed, closing his eyes. He let Shiro guide him to the next spot, another table, but this one was directly across from the bar. Better lit, and Shiro could keep an eye on him from right here, Lance supposed. Lance stayed quiet while Shiro got him to sit carefully in the booth, thankful there was a side to it that he could rest against.

He blinked up at Shiro above him, trying to focus on his face again. “...I'm sorry…” He mumbled, hoping his words came out alright, and not as slow and slurred as he felt. Yeah… This wasn't one of his better plans... he'd feel this probably for the next three days, if he even **_lived_** ...

Shiro sat down slowly next to him, or across from him- something like that, but he was close to Lance, close enough for Lance to see him better. “We need to talk…” Shiro said, biting his blurry lip. Lance wanted to bite it, but only for a second really, until he closed his eyes again because he could hardly keep them open.

“... aaabout?” Lance asked, eyes still closed.

“I know this probably isn't the best time to ask since you're obviously wasted and out of your mind…” Shiro sighed, “But I'm wondering if you're mad at me?.. er.. for something?.. I don't know what it would be, but you've been avoiding me today and you have me worried I did something to upset you, Lance… and now I'm worried to death about you because you're drunk out of your mind right now--” Shiro’s voice cracked, and Lance peeked his eyes open slightly.

It took him a while to process all of that, but Shiro was as patient as he was slow right now. “Oh…” Lance managed to say. He couldn't really get any other words out right now, but he reached out to place a hand on Shiro’s knee and give it a quick pat. “Ca-can you… ask me that later?.”

Shiro nodded, frowning still. He placed a warm tender hand over Lance's and gave it a gentle squeeze before he stood up and walked off, going back to work probably, so Lance just shut his eyes and let himself fall asleep.

___

APRIL 23RD, 11:27am.

He was hungover as fuck. When he finally rolled out of bed, he threw up into his trash can beside his bed. There was no such thing as making it to the bathroom in time, not with the grogginess and how uncoordinated he still was. It was a really bad idea to drink so much, but now he learned his lesson, probably… maybe.

Shiro had called Hunk to pick him up last night, and now he was texting him, asking if he was okay this morning. It was a little of a surprise to Lance, but he couldn't stay excited for too long about Shiro texting him when he had to throw up every couple of minutes. He wished he could get a glass of water, but he wasn't willing to stand up yet. He could finally answer Shiro’s texts though, so he did.

_ I'm fine, just hungover  _ , Lance texted back. He set his phone face down on his bed and hunched over his trash can in the corner. This was gross. He really wanted some water and a shower, but he'd have to wait a couple of minutes at least.

His phone buzzed and he lifted his head, groaning to himself before grabbing it. It was Shiro again.

Shiro [11:40am]: I bet you are… What got into you last night? You had me worried about you.

Lance blinked at the text, tapping his forefinger idly against the side of his phone. What was he supposed to tell Shiro about that… saying  _ ‘Oh I was drinking because I think I'm madly in love with you and can't have you.’  _ sounded bad. Sounded gross too, honestly. Lance didn't want that, not really. He didn't want to guilt Shiro, that's not what this was about, despite how selfish and pathetic this all made him feel. He let his dumb feelings get too far with this one.

_ “Can I call you?  _ ” was all he could answer with right now. Talking was easier than trying to type on a phone that felt so bright, and he could probably talk about this easier than type it.

Shiro [11:45am]: One sec.

It didn't take long for Shiro to call him, and Lance hesitated to answer for a moment, his throat suddenly closing up on him. He swallowed thickly and answered. “Hey…”

“Hey…” Shiro's voice was low, and it was comforting… He had the same worried edge that Lance could remember from last night, and it made him wonder just what and how much Shiro felt for him…  _ Dumb hope in one word…  _ Lance thought. “It's pretty bad today, isn't it?”

Lance hummed into the receiver. “Hm? You mean the hangover? Fuck yes, it's awful…” he whined quietly, and he could hear Shiro shift or something- whatever he was doing, wherever he was…

“Do you have someone there?” Shiro asked.

Lance shook his head even though he knew Shiro couldn't see it. “No. Just me, but I'm okay, it's just a hangover, not death… _ I don't think.  _ ”

Shiro sighed. “You're not dying…” Shiro paused. “Uhm… Lance, do you think you can come to the bar tonight? We really need to talk.”

“Ooh? I'm surprised you're not kicking me out of the bar after last night…” Lance jested,

“No, but you do have a limit now…”

“Fair enough… You're going to be keeping an eye on me now, huh?”

“Yeah…”

It was quiet for a few minutes after that, and Lance sighed. “Shiro… I didn't mean to be such a mess last night, you know…”

“Yeah, you were a passed out on a table kind of a mess,” Shiro chuckled. “It’s fine. I'm just glad you're okay now... I'm not the reason you were drinking excessively though, am I?..”

Lance bit his lip and sighed again, too quiet for the receiver to pick up though, or at least he hoped it was. “We’ll talk about this later, I'll be there at 9.” He said before hanging up.

Jesus, he  _ was  _ obvious… even Shiro knew, and he didn't even have to say it.

___

9:10pm

Lance stepped in, walking over to the bar timidly. He put his hands in his pockets because he wasn't sure what to do with them now. It was a Sunday night, one of the bars’ busier nights, but the crowd usually died fairly earlier than it did on Friday and Saturdays, minus the people who must have hated the fuck out of their Mondays and chose to go into it hungover.

Shiro walked over to him when he finally noticed him, grabbing his arm lightly and guiding him to the back, behind the bar. Lance had never been back there, as it was employees only of course.

“Shiro--” he let Shiro guide him to the desk that was in the room until his hip hit the side of it. Shiro had taken a single step back after that.

“Tell me you're alright…” Shiro pleaded, his eyes searching Lance’s face. He was gentle when he grabbed Lance’s hands and held them in his.

Lance stiffened at the contact and pulled his hands away regretfully. “ _ Shiro…  _ I'm fine,” Lance sighed. “You made sure of that last night and this morning… thanks for calling Hunk for me last night… and checking up on me this morning, it was nice of you…”

“Yeah, I was worried. I’m glad your friend could pick you up and make sure you got home safe…”

“He called you back, didn't he?”

“I asked him to, yeah. So I would know that you got home safe…”

Lance felt his cheeks heat up, and he rubbed at his left cheek with the heel of his hand to try and hide it or at least play it off. He was pretty flushed from his morning still, so it was noticeable as much as Lance didn't want it to be.  _ You were that worried about me, huh…  _ He couldn't get his mouth to say anything, or at least he knew it wouldn't say what he needed it to. He cleared his throat, “Anyway, I - I'm fine, and I can't thank you enough for looking out for me last night-”

Shiro folded his arms in front of himself, looking more anxious rather than upset. “So can you tell me what's going on with you?” Shiro asked finally, “I kinda get the feeling you're mad at me or something, did I do something to hurt you?..”

Lance sighed and stood up on his toes until he was able to slide back onto the desk and sit. He was more comfortable sitting right now. “No.  _ No  _ , I'm not mad at you, Shiro… I'm just-- I'm just being selfish...”

Shiro furrowed his brow. “Selfish?..”

“Yeah. You don't need to ask me about it, okay? I'm sorry I was giving you the cold shoulder-”

“So you **_were_** giving me the cold shoulder...” Shiro frowned and unfolded his arms. “Can I ask why?”

Lance clenched his jaw shut and shook his head. “No. I told you, I was just being selfish. You don't need all of the details, I swear I won't do it again-” He slid back off the desk now and started taking steps to go back out into the bar.  

Shiro grabbed his arm. “Do what again? Ignore me, or drink until you black out again and worry me to death?”

“Both,” Shiro let go of his arm when he tugged it away. “I'm not going to stick around to drink tonight, you just wanted to talk, so you can talk and then I'll go, but let's do that out here please,” Lance said, walking out of the room quickly. He sat down in his spot, his normal spot. Shiro had walked out after him and stepped over across from him.

“I won't keep you long, I just want to know if we're really okay…” Shiro said quietly.

Lance bit his lip and glanced at the door.  _ God…  _ He couldn't wait to go home now, he didn't like those puppy eyes that Shiro gave him. He was already weak against them. “We’re perfect, Shiro, I swear. I was just moody yesterday, and I took it out on you, I'm sorry…”

“So that's it?..”

“That's it…”

“Do you...want to talk about something else then? Whatever’s bothering you?” Shiro asked slowly, glancing at his other patrons around the bar.

“ _ No.  _ ”

“Not my business, right?” Shiro forced a feeble smile and tapped his hand on the counter. “Okay, well, I'm sorry I made you come all the way over here for  _ this.  _ ”

“It’s fine,”  _ I wasn't really sure what I was going to do.  _ He wanted to say. This could have gone so much differently, but this was fine. He didn't have to drag Shiro into his feelings. He stood up again and leaned in over the bar to place a quick kiss on Shiro’s cheek. He shouldn't have, but a kiss on the cheek couldn't hurt much than his own heart. “Thank you for being so sweet, you're like a big soft bear.”

Shiro blinked and blushed. “Oh, uh-”

Lance giggled and winked before he went over to the door and waved goodbye. “See you Friday!”

___

APRIL 24TH

Shiro [11:23am]: Hey Lance, hope the start of your week goes well. :)

 

Lance [11:23am]: Ohoho, thank you?!! Did the bar(*cough* I mean YOU ! ) miss me last night after I left??? 

 

Shiro [11:29am]: Sure did. :) You just might be my favorite customer. 

 

Shiro [11:29am]: and supposedly your someone else’s favorite too…

 

Shiro [11:30am]: Mr. Lotor was looking for you.?

 

Lance [11:31am]: AWWW

 

Lance [11:31am]: Ookay? 

 

Lance [11:31am]: Did he say what he wanted from me?

 

Shiro [11:35am] No… Are you two friends?

 

Lance [11:37am]: Not really.

 

Shiro [11:50am]: Okay.

 

\--

 

APRIL 25TH

 

Lance [1:03pm]: wyd?

 

Shiro [1:18pm]: Grocery shopping so I don't starve, lol. My boyfriend doesn't shop for us, that's my job. :^(

 

Lance [1:24pm]: I would shop for us if I was ur boyfriend

 

Shiro [1:34pm]: ?

 

Shiro [1:35pm]: I'm not sure how to respond…

 

Shiro [1:35pm]: :U

 

Lance [1:56pm]: :\\... Never minddd. Gotta go, ttyl 

 

-

 

Shiro [12:03am]: He asked about you again? You would let me know if he becomes a problem for you right?

 

Lance [4:46am]: Yeh, thans 4 looking out for me

 

Lance [4:48am]: Thanks* :\ sorry about replying so late. 

 

\--

 

APRIL 26TH

 

Shiro [8:04am]: No prob. Does something about him throw you off or is it just me?

 

Lance [10:28am]: Lotor? Idk… 

 

Lance [10:30am]: Don't know why he would be asking about me so much, I only hung out with him that one time…

 

Shiro [11:16am]: If you ever feel unsafe in the bar please let me know…

 

Shiro [11:17am]: :(

 

-

 

Lance [8:14pm]: What about Lotor bothers you?? 

 

Lance [8:14pm]: Does he make you jealous?;P lol jk

 

Lance [8:33pm]: I'll be honest, he was a little weird the other day, but that's probably just his personality, have you seen his hair?!?! Soooo white!

 

Shiro [9:09pm]: Sorry, I'm at work. I don't knw? I can't put my finger on it. I'm not jealous?

 

Lance [9:09pm]: I know you are, I probably know your schedule better than you do by now ha ha

 

Shiro [9:36pm]: :(

 

Shiro [9:37pm]: Are you making fun of me? lol

 

\--

 

APRIL 27TH

 

Shiro [7:04pm]: See you tomorrow, right?

 

Lance [7:06pm]: *

 

Lance [7:06pm]: Yeah

 

Shiro [7:06pm]: ;) you have a limit now remember? 

 

Lance [7:07pm]: I REMEMBER.. :\

 

Lance [8:37pm]: I'm bringing Hunk with me tomorrow, he will watch me

 

Shiro [8:59pm]: Okay, cool. Can't wait to see you

 

Lance [9:00pm]: Have my fave drink ready for me by 8.

 

___

 

APRIL 28TH 7:48pm

 

“Huuuunk, how far are you?!” Lance cried into the phone. “It takes like ten minutes to get there-”

 

“Do you have a drinking problem, Lance? Sounds like it.” Hunk retorted from the other end. He was on his way to pick Lance up so they could go to Five Lion’s together, as promised. 

 

“No!!! Ugh, no! I do not have a drinking problem! I just have a crush on the bartender, and I promised to be there by eight for my Kiss on the lips.”

 

“Lord, so you're developing a drinking problem- so you can be with this guy? Wait-- are you talking about Shiro? The one I met when I had to pick you up that night?”

 

“Yeeessss, yes, that would be the guy I'm so heartachingly crushing on.” Lance sighed and flopped back onto his couch. “What did you think about him?”

 

“Well, I didn't really talk to him that much, but he seemed really nice… very mature. He was really concerned about you that night.”

 

Lance sighed again, this one even longer than the last and he stared up at the ceiling in romantic daze. “Fuck… I know, he's taken though… He’s dating a douchey fbi guy… I mean-- I don't really know that this guy is actually douchey, but he doesn't go shopping for them?”

 

Hunk laughed. “Uh, okay? I'm not sure what to tell you? Maybe there's a possibility Shiro is polyamorous?”

 

Lance chewed his bottom lip, thinking about the possibility. Perhaps that  _ was  _ a possibility with Shiro, he guessed. Maybe he wasn't reading Shiro wrong after all, and Shiro had flirted with him and cared for him romantically… He pondered maybe asking Shiro that over text one day, and see how it goes over. “Yeah, maybe… But I'm not sure if I could  _ share… _ ” Lance snickered. 

 

“Yes you would… His other guy had him first, and you still want him, why couldn't you share?”

 

“Mmm, your right. I guess if push comes to shove I could share that ass with mullet fbi agent man. He still might kick my ass though,”

 

“Maybe. Anyway, I'm pulling into the driveway now, come out.”

 

___

 

They got there at exactly 8:02. Not bad. Lance usually considered himself a late person anyway. He had to restrain himself from running over to Shiro and throwing his arms around him, he was in a very happy mood tonight. He had been in a pretty good mood the whole week, actually.

 

“Shirooooo~” Lance sang, pulling Hunk alongside him to the bar. His favorite spot on the very end was waiting for him,  _ and _ with his favorite drink. He wasn't entirely serious about that, but damn was he pleasantly surprised. He sat down and patted the barstool next to him for Hunk to sit. “Shiro, this is my best friend, Hunk… Hunk, this is Shiro. Now it's official.” Lance said, smiling wide when Shiro had stepped over to them and shook Hunk’s hand.

 

“It's nice to get to meet you under better circumstances, Hunk. Lance talks about you a lot, all good things.” Shiro said, “What can I get you to drink?”

 

“Water. I'm the designated driver tonight.” Hunk smiled. “And same to you. Lance thinks a lot about you--” Lance stuck an elbow in his side. “Or uh-- i mean he thinks highly of you- not thinks  _ a lot _ about...you…” Hunk recovered, grinning awkwardly. He cut eyes over at Lance and stuck his bottom lip out in a pout.

 

Lance just smiled at him and turned back to Shiro. “So how many times did Mr Creeptor ask about me this week?”

 

“A few times… He came in yesterday, but didn't say anything.” Shiro shifted uncomfortably. “I told you, if for some reason you feel uncomfortable here, just let me know… if you don't want to go to your car by yourself at night, either me or Matt can walk you out…” he said, grabbing a glass and filling it with cold water and ice for Hunk.

 

“Ooh… That makes me feel like a VIP.” Lance teased, watching Shiro’s hands, then glancing up at his pretty face as he was handing Hunk his water. He couldn't not admire Shiro. It was obvious he was, but he was less scared of Shiro finding out about his crush now. Whether he came out of this heartbroken or not, his life would still go on. He had convinced himself of that again, at least this week.

 

“I'm  _ serious _ …” Shiro muttered. “You're not just a customer to me, you know… You're a friend of mine now,”

 

Lance blushed and spluttered his drink. “ _ Oh-- _ I know- I-I know…”  _ Gooooooood,  _ it killed him every time Shiro said that. He was so unaware of what it did to Lance. Lance was hardly sure what it did to him, other than squeeze his heart every time Shiro confirmed that they were more than just...whatever a customer is to a bar owner… 

 

Hunk raised a brow, a small smirk on his lips at Lance's reaction, but he was quiet next to him as he stirred the tip of his finger in his water.

 

They were all quiet for too long of a minute, and Shiro had gone to get another of his customers a drink. 

 

Hunk glanced over at him while Shiro was turned away a few steps down the bar. “Want me to pry for you?” Hunk asked.

 

“Yeah, when I get up to go to the bathroom, you can pry away.” Lance grinned. “Save the good stuff for me to find out later, though,”

 

“So what do you want me to ask now?”

 

“Mm… Ask about Keith, his boyfriend. Maybe you can tell me what you think,” Lance said and he slowly got up. “Anyways, ten minutes should be enough, right?” 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ?


	3. UPDATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Important info about the fic! Please read if you want to continue reading REDBONE

Hey there!! Just a quick update, but REDBONE is moving! I rewrote the first two chapters so they are more consistent with the third and so on, and now I'm MUCH happier with the outcome than I was previously, so if you liked this shit, feel free to read the updated version under my new pseud BOYYBLADE, right here: <https://archiveofourown.org/works/12141948/chapters/27548289> !!!! Thank you for reading!!!!

Links to my tumblr(s) if you have anything to say:

<https://boyyblade.tumblr.com/> (A side blog for REDBONE updates and probs some other morbid stuff idk, it's p empty, but you can reach me there!)

<http://dumb-birdd.tumblr.com/> (My main blog! You can literally reach me there 24/7, I respond the quickest from this blog.)

<http://saltystarss.tumblr.com/> (My side fic/voltron blog. Hardly do I ever do much with this blog lmao but I'm still there)

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Haha, did you make it this far?


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